''The Lady Without Camelias'' () is a 1953 French–Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

and starring

Lucia Bosé Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Indian Kannada-language film ** ''Enakkul Oruvan'' (2015 film), its 2015 Tamil-language remake, also known as ''Lucia'' * '' L ...

Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952–1965), and police detective Jul ...

, and

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, he s ...

. Based on a story by Antonioni, the film is about a newly discovered starlet and her experiences in the film business.

Plot

Film executive Gianni Franchi discovers young shop assistant Clara Manni and makes her the star of his new film, ''Woman Without Destiny''. When test screenings reveal that the public is enamoured with Clara, but less enthusiastic about the film itself, producer Ercole uses her presence in her second feature, which is still in production, by emphasising its scenes of passion. Clara is taken by surprise by Gianni's marriage proposal, to which she reluctantly agrees. Once married, Gianni, who becomes jealous over the provocative marketing for her film, categorically states that he doesn't want her involved with it anymore. He makes her the star of a new version of the trial of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

, with Gianni himself in the director's chair, but the film is panned during its premiere at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. Clara's ambitions to become a serious actress fail, as does her marriage, and she eventually returns to the melodramatic material in which she had given her debut.

Cast

as Clara Manni *

as Ercole *

as Gianni Franchi *

Ivan Desny Ivan Desny (born Ivan Nikolaevich Desnitsky; , 28 December 1922 – 13 April 2002) was a French actor of Russian Chinese origin. He had a lengthy career in French and German cinema, appearing in over 200 film and television roles over 50 year ...

as Nardo Rusconi * Monica Clay as Simonetta *

Alain Cuny René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny (12 July 1908 – 16 May 1994) was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and ...

as Lodi *

Gisella Sofio Gisella Sofio (19 February 1931 – 27 January 2017) was an Italian actress. Life and career Born in Milan, Sofio started her career at the age of 16 as a model. In 1951 she began her acting career in Mario Mattoli's film '' Accidents to the T ...

as Simonetta's friend *

Anna Carena Anna Carena (born Giuseppina Galimberti; 30 January 1899 – 15 April 1990) was an Italian actress. She appeared in more than thirty films from 1941 to 1983. Life and career Born in Milan, in 1924 Galimberti started her career on stage in the the ...

as Clara's mother *

Enrico Glori Enrico Musy, better known as Enrico Glori (3 August 1901 – 22 April 1966) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Naples to a wealthy family of French origin, Glori became an actor in his thirties. He spent most of his time in France whe ...

as Director

Production

Antonioni had based his scenario for ''The Lady Without Camelias'' on stories of discovered actresses like

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

, who refused to star in his film, as did

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

. Eventually Lucia Bosé was chosen for the title role, who had started her career as a beauty queen. The film was shot in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Reception

For

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...

, ''The Lady Without Camelias'', while not a masterpiece, "impresses through its annexation of an all-too-familiar theme to the personal and singular style of its director", making it possibly "Antonioni's most unjustly neglected fiction feature". In his 1981 review for The New York Times,

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

titled ''The Lady Without Camelias'' a "cool, almost frosty soap opera" and a preface to his later work.

Home media

The movie was released on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on 21 March 2011 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Without Camelias, The 1953 films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian-language films 1953 drama films Films set in Rome Films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni Films with screenplays by Suso Cecchi d'Amico Films scored by Giovanni Fusco Films shot at Cinecittà Studios Films shot in Venice Films set in Venice Italian drama films French drama films 1950s Italian films 1950s French films Italian-language drama films